MPs reject proposal to revive FT Ministry

IT HAS been over eight months since the Federal Territories Ministry was restructured into a department and placed under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department on Dec 22 last year.

Certain groups are now said to be lobbying for the resurrection of the disbanded ministry.

Sources in the Prime Minister’s Department have disclosed to StarMetro that Umno is lobbying for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to revive the ministry.

“They are pushing for one of their own to assume the position of Federal Territories Minister,’’ the sources said.

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CLICK TO ENLARGETalk of reinstating the ministry started in June when Federal Territories Umno, during the Umno general assembly, called on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Umno president, to push Anwar to make the move.

According to media reports, Federal Territories Umno wanted party vice-president Datuk Seri Johari Ghani, who is also Titiwangsa MP, to be given the ministerial post, based on the fact that Johari was the “last man standing” from the party in Kuala Lumpur.

This latest development has not gone down well with the majority of Kuala Lumpur lawmakers.

The ministry was restructured after the 15th General Election (GE15).

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali posted on his Facebook page last year announcing that the Federal Territories Department would be parked under the Prime Minister’s Department.

He announced that the Federal Territories Department director-general Datuk Seri Rosida Jaafar had been briefed on the restructuring. Rosida was secretary-general in the former Federal Territories Ministry.

It is learnt that Kuala Lumpur MPs are not happy with the proposal to revive the ministry.

“Yes, it’s true. And we object to any reinstatement of the ministry,’’ said a senior DAP lawmaker in Kuala Lumpur who preferred to remain anonymous.

“They (Umno) are lobbying for another Cabinet post for Umno and the Federal Territories minister post as well,” added the MP.

“There may be a (Cabinet) reshuffle coming soon and they are trying their luck.”

According to the lawmaker, the request was made about two weeks before the recently concluded six state elections.

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Another senior Kuala Lumpur MP who also prefers to remain unnamed confirmed the news, adding that he heard Johari Ghani was the candidate suggested for the post (Federal Territories minister).

“Let’s just say that there are more pros than cons in removing the ministry,’’ he added.

Another MP said, “How can this be fair?

“Umno won only one seat in Kuala Lumpur during the last general election, the rest was won by Pakatan Harapan.

“This alone makes the proposal ludicrous.”

In GE15, Pakatan Harapan won 10 parliamentary seats in Kuala Lumpur, with Barisan Nasional taking one.

DAP won five seats — Bukit Bintang, Cheras, Seputeh, Segambut and Kepong — while PKR won Lembah Pantai, Wangsa Maju, Bandar Tun Razak, Setiawangsa and Batu.

Johari, a former Titiwangsa MP, managed to wrest back the seat with a 4,623 majority, the lowest in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

A PKR MP who preferred anonymity said, “Yes, I heard of the request (by Umno) in July. But that was before the state elections, now things have changed.

“Umno did badly (in the state elections), so that talk should stop now as it no longer has clout.”

ALSO READ: Federal Territories Ministry in no-man’s land

In the recent state polls, Umno won only 19 out of 108 seats it contested.

The party lost all seats it contested in Terengganu and Kedah, and won one in Kelantan, two in Penang and Selangor, and 14 in Negri Sembilan.

A giant Malaysian flag hanging at Menara DBKL to celebrate National Day last year. City folk now wait to see what impact Anwar’s unitygovernment will have on Kuala Lumpur.

The ministry was established in 1979 with the country’s third Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn helming it.

The post was abolished in 1987.

Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was put in charge of administration of the Federal Territories when it came under the Prime Minister’s Department in the early 2000s.

In 2004, then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi revived the ministry, with Tan Sri Mohamed Isa Abdul Samad in charge.

The last person to helm the ministry was Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim who has since quit Umno to join Perikatan Nasional (see grapics).

Following the call to reestablish the ministry, KLRA+, a coalition of 55 residents associations in Kuala Lumpur, issued a statement saying the revival was not necessary.

Rapid development such as these high-rises in Cheras has sparked calls for a more holistic city planning. — Filepic

KLRAs+ pro-tem chairman Tan Booi Charn said Kuala Lumpur residents had witnessed how the city was administered under the ministry for the past 18 years.

“The ministry unilaterally made various decisions adhering to the check-and-balance formula that other bodies have had to follow under the Local Government Act 1976.

“KL suffered from a lack of holistic planning.

“There were localised ad hoc approvals for development that have strained the transport and transit infrastructure.

Hillslope development along Taman Supreme in Cheras has alarmed residents. — Filepic

“Projects on sensitive locations like near retention ponds and along steep slopes were approved. These affected soil stability and caused flash floods.

“The ministry also reduced the proportion of green spaces which are essential for healthy living and societal cohesion.

He said KLRA+ strongly feels that having a ministry governing the three Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan was redundant.

The Batu flood retention pond in Jalan Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, is the latest water body in danger as a portion has been alienated for a project.

“Putrajaya Corporation and Labuan Corporation already have their own local authorities or equivalent bodies that exercise most of the powers under the Local Government Act 1976.

“Restructuring the ministry was a cost-effective move.

“The Cabinet is already big, and the government must trim down and maintain only vital ministries while improving on their efficiency,” he added.